SynopsisTony Cole has it all. A beautiful girlfriend, a lucrative business with his best friend and ambitious plans for his future.

A week later, his girlfriend has left him, the criminal underworld and police are hunting him and his best friend has been murdered.

With events spiralling beyond his control and trapped in a dangerous game he cannot escape, Tony has twelve hours to find the man that killed his friend and save his own life.

Production
OTHER SIDE OF THE GAME is the debut feature film from writer/directors Savaş Akyüz and Lajaune Lincoln. The project was conceived in November 2007 and, after several months of pre-production, was shot over 3 intense weeks in July 2008 on a micro budget of £15,000 and a core crew of only six people. The highly experienced camera and sound crew made shooting on the S16mm format very quick and efficient. Many other people helped out during the production providing transport, catering and filling other crew roles on a day-to-day basis. Filming took place on location in and around north and east London, with locations sometimes becoming available only a few tense moments before a scene was to be shot. One particular incident is outlined below:

Whilst filming a scene between Tony Cole and Superintendent Dempsey which involved Dempsey slamming Tony into the door of a disused warehouse, the production was interrupted by a voice behind the door asking what all the noise was about. This turned out to be the owner of the property, a Colombian guy with no shirt on and covered in tattoos. Whilst apologising to him for the disturbance the production received the bad news that the car they needed for the following scene was not going to be available that day (and therefore disrupting the shooting schedule in an irretrievable way). The filmmakers had to deal with this problem whilst ensuring the Colombian guy wasn't too angry about having his door slammed into and would allow the filming to continue. He took a keen interest in the filmmaking, decided to ‘hang out on set’ and ask questions - which led the filmmakers to ask him about the industrial loft he was living in. He kindly invited them up to have a look around. On seeing the space, the filmmakers looked at each other in realisation and then turned to him and asked if they could shoot the scene that was supposed to be shot in the car in this magnificent location instead - also offering him a part in the scene as an extra deal sweetener. 'Of course', he said, and within a few moments and mouthfuls of lunch, the camera was rolling on slate 360 which coincidentally, due to being shot in natural light, became a 360º shot covering the action and made what was to be a pretty standard car scene into something much more dynamic and interesting.

This is just one of many moments of improvisation that happened throughout the shoot, such is the uncertainty of micro budget filmmaking. The filmmakers and crew adapted to these obstacles very early in the shoot and overcame them as a team with a collective vision and passion to complete this project to the highest standards achievable within their means. Their ‘never say die’ attitude and their philosophy of turning every negative into a positive kept their spirits up and their outlook fresh and optimistic at all times.

Contacts
Other Side of the Game is an independently produced feature film from the UK
and we are currently seeking both domestic and international distribution.

For more information about the project or any of the cast and crew involved, please
email us at: